The All-American Rejects is an American rock band formed in Stillwater, Okl… Read Full Bio ↴The All-American Rejects is an American rock band formed in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1999. The band consists of lead vocalist, bass guitarist, and pianist Tyson Ritter, lead guitarist Nick Wheeler, rhythm guitarist Mike Kennerty, and drummer and percussionist Chris Gaylor.

The band achieved mainstream success with their debut self-titled studio album The All-American Rejects released in 2003 by Dreamworks Records. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA and spawned the single "Swing, Swing".The band's second album Move Along brought the band further mainstream success in 2005, producing the hit singles, "Dirty Little Secret", "Move Along" and "It Ends Tonight", all of which charted in the top fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while Move Along was certified double platinum by the RIAA.Their third studio album When the World Comes Down was released in 2008 and was later certified gold by the RIAA.[6] Its lead single "Gives You Hell" became The All-American Rejects' most successful song to date, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the top 5 in many other countries. "Gives You Hell" was certified 4× multi-platinum for sales of over 4 million in the United States by the RIAA. Kids in the Street, the band's fourth studio album, was released March 26, 2012 and debuted at #18 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Since the start of their career, The All-American Rejects have sold over 10 million albums worldwide[11][12] and were ranked No. 73 on the "Hot 100 Artists of the 2000s"[13] and No. 183 on Billboard magazine's "Billboard 200 Artists of the Decade" list.

Night Drive
The All-American Rejects Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I know you
So better than the city in the rear view
I drive to
Eliminate the ball that I'm chained to

Take me break me
Every mile further there's a part of me that slips away
One day you'll see

Even if you got down on your knees you couldn't make me stay

Drive all night
Never gonna get me
Night by night
To get away from it all
Fight fight fight
All you want to do is hurt me
You wrecked my life
So I'm gonna have to drive all night

Pulse stays strong
I'm pushing on the pedal til I break dawn
So I'm gone, go find another shoulder you can cry on

Take me break me
Every mile further there's a part of me that slips away
One day you'll see
Even if you got down on your knees you couldn't make me stay

Drive all night
Never gonna get me
Night by night
To get away from it all
Fight fight fight
All you want to do is hurt me
You wrecked my life
So I'm gonna have to drive all night
You wrecked my life
So I'm gonna have to drive all night
You wrecked my life
So I'm gonna have to drive all night
You wrecked my life
So I'm gonna have to drive all night
You wrecked my life
So I'm going to have to drive all night

All of the things that you knew that I'd try
All of the things that I held inside
All I gotta do is drive

Drive all night
Never gonna get me
Night by night
To get away from it all
Fight fight fight
All you want to do is hurt me
You wrecked my life
So I'm gonna have to drive all night
You wrecked my life
So I'm gonna have to drive all night
You wrecked my life
So I'm gonna have to drive all night

You wrecked my life
So I'm gonna have to drive all night

Overall Meaning

The All-American Rejects’ “Night Drive” is a song about escaping from a destructive relationship, where the singer feels trapped and suffocated. He is familiar with the city in his rearview mirror and chooses to drive all night instead of staying for the sake of comfort in the familiar. The driving is his way to eliminate the ball that he is chained to, to get away from the person who has wrecked his life. The singer is determined to leave and never come back, no matter how much the person begs him to stay.

The song’s lyrics are straightforward and describe the singer's need to distance himself from a toxic relationship. The metaphor of driving all night symbolizes the singer’s determination to escape, the hope for a brighter future, and to leave everything in the past. The lyrics reveal that the singer is strong enough to hold on to his decision to leave, even when he is vulnerable because of an emotional attachment.

In conclusion, “Night Drive” describes the emotional battle that the singer experiences when trying to leave a relationship. The song's lyrics and tone speak of difficulties in letting go but show that the singer has the strength to sever ties and move on.

Line by Line Meaning

I know you
I am familiar with you on a deep level

So better than the city in the rear view
I know you even better than the city that I am leaving behind

I drive to
I am driving away from you

Eliminate the ball that I'm chained to
I am trying to break free from the emotional burden that you have put on me

Take me break me
You have been causing me pain and distress

Every mile further there's a part of me that slips away
With each passing mile, I feel more separated and distant from you

One day you'll see
Someday you will understand what you have done to me

Even if you got down on your knees you couldn't make me stay
No matter how much you beg or plead with me, I will not stay with you

Drive all night
I am going to keep driving all night

Never gonna get me
You will not be able to catch up with me

Night by night
Every night, I am trying to escape from your grasp